Read the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. ____(2015), and write a 4–5-page paper addressing the following:
- Summarize the plaintiffs’ arguments that their substantive due process had been violated.
- Summarize the plaintiffs’ argument that their rights to equal protection under the law had been violated.
- Explain the Court’s ruling and any prior U.S. Supreme Court cases that may have laid the foundation for this case.
- Explain what societal changes influenced the Court’s decisions from the time of the 1986 Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986) case, in which the Court upheld a Georgia statute that criminalized homosexual sex, to Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003), that overruled Bowers, to the 2015 Obergefell case that recognized same-sex marriage.
- Summarize why the dissenting justices disagreed with the majority opinion in Obergefell.
- Do you agree with the majority opinion or the dissenting justices? Explain why.
References
Oyez. (n.d.a). Bowers v. Hardwick. https://www.oyez.org/cases/1985/85-140
Oyez. (n.d.b). Lawrence v. Texas. https://www.oyez.org/cases/2002/02-102
Oyez. (n.d.c). Obergefell v. Hodges. https://www.oyez.org/cases/2014/14-556
Your assignment will be graded in accordance with the following criteria. View the grading rubric.
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